Well, I went camping in Plant City. Joy. It was cool, me and Fred drove there and stopped by my mom's for a couple hours to collect supplies. She had lied to me and said she already had a tent when she actually went out and bought one (and a sleeping bag) just for our trip. I love that sort of lie.
We visited with Meggie for lunch, the mall, and Merlin's bookstore. Then we used the remaining daylight to get to the campsite: All World Acres.
There we met our host, Richard, who showed us where to camp and where the permanent circle was and stuff. We got a tour of the outdoor bathroom and were told we were welcome in the house (which was cool!), and we set up our tent. It was so easy it was unbelievable. But then, even though we were slathered with bug spray and lotion, we began to be dinner for the mosquitoes. So we retreated into our tent and hid, listening to CDs on my portable until we fell asleep.
We woke up in the morning and sat around, and after a brief bout with saving some puppies from a hot tent belonging to neighboring campers, we had our breakfast and played cards. It got really hot really fast. We spent a few hours out there and then retreated to the relative safety of the canopies near the house. There we sat with some other campers (our tent neighbors who had the puppies) and the kids who lived there, and we all just chatted a while. It was fun. Eventually Fred met a challenge from fifteen-year-old Joe to play chess, and he managed to beat this aspiring chess champ, which set off a string of chess matches throughout the night.
I amused myself with the computer (had to do my E2!) and some card games, eventually we got a poker game going with some people and it was cool. Someone had on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory which caused me to randomly burst into song.
I had to quit the poker game to go cook for the potluck, so I made yellow rice and veggie dogs, and Fred helped later by cutting up cheese and stuff. Then all these people started arriving and eating and stuff, and I met some great people and talked about vegetarianism and other random things with people who actually knew what they were talking about. (Such a change in my life!)
After the whole thing we all sat around talking and b.s.ing and I taught a girl how to play different types of solitaire. Finally we went out to the drum circle and the campfire, and watched people dancing and stuff. It was kind of a "low-energy night" according to one guy, which is why I suppose it really wasn't that inspiring, so I went back inside and played more cards and talked some more. Finally Fred and I crawled into the tent again.
In the morning we crawled out and had our pancake breakfast, and thanked everyone and packed up and left. We ended up in Tampa meeting up with Ammy, and we went to the beach but we got freaking rained out after like half an hour. So we went back to her place, changed, and went to Tampa Pitcher Show, where you can order dinner at a table and also watch a movie on the big screen. We saw The Bourne Identity.
Then we ventured to my mom's and slept at her house. We met her friend Bob, the scary Internet man. Yay. The next morning we ate at Village Inn and ran into one of my sister's old buds, and then went back to Mom's. Eventually Fred had to depart.
I spent the rest of the day with Mom and we made a sewing project (I'm learning to sew, we made a dress out of pretty brown fabric printed with stars and moons), and we hung out and watched videos and talked and ate out and I met Mom's friend Sue. It was really, really nice to see Mom and spend some leisurely time with her. It ended when Meghan came to pick me up, toting her monster with her (yay Katie!), and we hung out with Steve before venturing back to Gainesville, where we partied for a couple days before my regular life had to start up again. Blah.
That is the short version. Ask for details on any one part if you are really that intrigued by my fabulous life.
Notes:
Fun Times!!!! - B
I'm smiling :D I'm in a vacationing mood myself, 'cept I'm spending it BY myself. Weekends are lovely. Sounds like you had a great time. I'm sure it was nice to be surrounded by people with a brain, than what usually is. [katqueen]